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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-01-21 HPC Minutes MINUTES MAPLEWOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS - CITY HALL JANUARY 21, 2010 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Chairperson Ron Cockriel. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Chairperson Ron Cockriel, Vice Chair Richard Currie, Commissioners Pete Boulay, Robert Creager, AI Galbraith, Liaison Dave Fisher, Recorder Lois Behm, Visitors Mayor Will Rossbach, Council member James Llanas, Director of Community Development and Parks Duwayne Konewko, Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhart, Ramsey County Director of Parks & Recreation, Keller Golf Course Manager Kevin Finley, Rick Christensen, Architect for Partners & Sirny. Absent: Commissioners Caleb Anderson and Lu Aurelius 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Richard moved to have Item 6. Visitor Presentations. immediatelv after Item 3. Approval of Aqenda. Bob seconded the motion. Aves - all. 6. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS - Keller Golf Course Project Update Ron stated that the Visitor Presentations would be about Keller Golf Course, but if there was anyone with another matter to discuss they were welcome to speak before that. Duwavne Konewko announced that the Mayor would like to speak to the Commission. a. Mavor Will Rossbach said he is going to the meetings of all the Boards and Commissions to tell them, on behalf of the Council, that their work is invaluable to the Council and is appreciated and also noted that usually suggestions or requests from the Commissions for action are approved. He also stated the Council thanks all the residents who volunteer for City projects and activities and also greatly appreciated. He then asked if anyone had any questions - - - Bob asked when he was moving his office into Maplewood? Mavor Rossbach responded that since he is in the construction business and there isn't much of that going on right now so, unless the economy gets better, such a move could happen soon, back to where his office was originally - in his house. There were no further questions. b. Keller Golf Course Proiect Update Kevin Finlev commented on the fact that some of the Commissioners had toured the Keller Clubhouse on Wednesday for a first-hand look at the building and get an idea of what is being discussed. He further commented on the Keller Clubhouse which was built 80 years ago, in 1929, and is the flagship of the five Ramsey County golf courses. It has served many people and events over the years and shows it and, with the changes in golf, it needs to be updated. As you go through the building you see it is not as large as it looks and needs to be enlarged to handle more people and events. The County Board agreed and ordered an analysis of the current building and a pre-design study. Rick Christensen. who conducted the analysis and pre-design study, explained the shortcomings of the facility and explained the changes they are suggesting: The analysis covered three areas - golf, social uses and functionality. Because of the age of the building the infrastructure is inefficient and because of the size it does not serve the needs. For instance, currently only 40 people can be served in the grill and 140 in the banquet room which negatively affects the food service possibilities and with design changes those can be increased to 56 and 280, with the ability to divide the banquet area into 3 separate rooms. The changes that are needed are not possible without taking down the building and starting over, although some design elements, particularly some of the historic parts such as the fireplace and some railings, can be used in the new building, as well as some of the trusses from the current building. With current improvements in building materials many of the design features can be replicated The proposed size of the new building is 23,000 s.f., but because of the terrain the footprint would have to be much the same. The new building will not have the same rounded shape but the expanse of windows will provide some curve and give it the same 'feel'. The dining area would still face the lake and have views to the southeast. An outdoor terrace for pre-event socializing is also suggested, replicating an earlier one at the original building. Responding to questions, he added that the pro shop will be replaced with a larger building, similar in style to the club house, but the golf carts will still be kept at the main building as in the past. The entrance will be moved for safety reasons, additional parking areas will be created and the driveway will be redesigned for easier entrance and exit. Kevin stated that the anticipated time line is for closing the course in the Fall of 2011 and construction to start in the Spring of 2012 with a reopening date of June 2013. Ron thanked Rick and Kevin for their presentations and told them when it is time to apply for building permits we might want to invite them back for additional information. Victoria Reinhart said she was pleased at the interest shown by the Commission and the Historical Society. She had some difficulty convincing the the rest of the Ramsey County Board of the historic importance of the golf course and club house, but said they will make great effort to retain as much history as possible. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. November 19. 2009 Richard moved to approve the minutes of the November 19 meetinQ as presented. seconded bv Pete. Aves - all. 5. CHAIR OPENING STATEMENTS I PRESENTATIONS - None 6. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS - Keller Golf Course Project Update After Item 3 7. OLD BUSINESS a. LOCAL GOVERNMENT CERTIFICATION & AMENDMENT TO THE HPC ORDINANCE Dave reported he had talked with Mike Koop about the possibility of softening the conditions of the Ordinance to attain more support of property owners. His response was that it could be done, a lot of cities have done that, but it then might not meet the minimum Certified Local Government standards. That would not preclude applying for legacy grants, but could decrease the likelihood of approval. Since there are at least 2 properties (Ramsey County Poor Farm and Bruentrup Heritage Farm) which meet the historic criteria, Dave feels we can go ahead with the amended ordinance and CLG application as they are and see what happens, then continue with efforts to get the acceptance from owners to pursue historic designations of their property. Ron responded that, although he was hoping for more support from the community, it isn't there at this time, and go ahead. Pete said the Forest Lawn Mausoleum is another property that should be eligible, and he doesn't believe they would object to being historically significant. Ron suggested contacting Forest Lawn to verify they are agreeable, and if not, go ahead with just the 2 properties. Dave mentioned the issue of notification to the Commission about applications for demo permits of possibly historic properties and how to ensure getting the information and said a formal mechanism is needed for that to happen. Discussion followed about other possible properties and how the ordinance would affect them, what would happen if the owner wanted to demolish it, etc. and how to find other properties that might be eligible. Pete suggested staying away from other properties for now, go forward with the two existing ones and try to add others later. Since there was a motion approved at the October meeting to send the proposed ordinance to Council, no further action is required. Dave mentioned there are 2 shelter buildings on Keller Golf Course which could well be historic buildings and might be candidates for a future grant application if some work is needed on them. b. CITY OF MAPLEWOOD COMMISSION HANDBOOK Dave reported the City's handbook for Commissions in the packet is the complete handbook, including the appendices. Richard noted that on page 5, paragraph 4, the time of the Council meetings needs to be changed to 7:00 p.m. Dave responded that there are some other minor changes, but we do not need to deal with those. 8. NEW BUSINESS a. 2009 Historical Preservation Commission Annual Report - Discussion onlv Dave said he is looking for a list of accomplishments and completed goals that can be included in the annual report, both by the Commission alone and, conceivably, any projects on which the Commission worked with the Historical Society. Pete said he completed the goal of repairing the Gladstone informational kiosk, but while doing so discovered that other work needs to be done as well - 2010 Goal. It was agreed that most of that information is in the minutes; Dave will compile the memo and bring it for approval at the February meeting. b. HPC 2010 Goal Settinq Dave provided information about the 2009 goals and ideas for 2010 and pointed out that any goals unmet in 2009 can be used in 2010 unless there is reason to just drop them. The 2009 goals and current status are: 1. Take all necessary measures to obtain Certified Local Government status: a. Complete a historical site survey - COMPLETE b. HPC ordinance amendments - to ensure HPC has oversight of sites and that there is a public process in place when dealing with these sites - IN PROCESS c. Apply to the Minnesota Historical Preservation (MNHP) Society for CLG status - IN PROCESS 2. Education of history through events, time capsule, etc. ONGOING 3. Repair of Gladstone informational kiosk - DONE 4. Identify and recognize historic families - ONGOING 5. Identify and recognize the history of geographic features such as lakes, etc. - ONGOING 6. Heritage Award - create criteria for awarding people or places for their work in the field of history or for their historic character. NOTHING DONE - KEEP NEW 2010 GOALS: 7. Scanning historical photos with Maplewood Area Historical Society 8. Link from City web site to Society web site - and reverse 9. Action Plan 10. Identify and list heritage landmarks 11. Obtain relevant speaker(s) for enlightening Commissioners and public 12. Create list of books about Maplewood 9. COMMISSIONER PRESENTATIONS Historical Society Activities: A Quilting Bee with lunch will be held on Saturday, January 23 from 10:00 to 2:00 at the Bruentrup Heritage Farm. The Holiday Tea was held on January 9 and the theme was Victorian Teas. There were 31 guests. Richard suggested giving the Commissions approval to the Fish Ceek Greenway project and the ad hoc committee. Pete commented on Pauline Staples' retirement on December 31 and extended thanks to her for all the work she did over the years for the Commission and the Society. Pete also mentioned he received a call from a new business moving into Maplewood that would like to have some old photos to enlarge and frame. 10. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Historical Preservation Commission Term Update Dave reminded commissioners that some members' terms will expire on December 31 of this year and that, if they wish to be re-appointed, they will need to re-apply. b. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair Pete moved to retain the current Chair. Ron Cockriel. and Vice Chair Richard Currie. AI seconded. Aves - All 11. ADJOURNMENT - 9:08 P.M.